History sacred mushroom in humanity
Humanity’s use of the Sacred Mushrooms extends back to Paleolithic times. Few people, even anthropologists, comprehend how influential mushrooms have been in affecting the course of human evolution.
History sacred mushroom
Mushrooms have also played pivotal roles in ancient Greece, India and Meso-america. Due to their beguiling nature, fungi have always elicited deep emotional responses: from adulation by those who understand them to outright fear by those who do not.
The historical record reveals that mushrooms have been used for less than benign purposes. Claudius II and Pope Clement VII were both killed by enemies who poisoned them with deadly Amanitas. Buddha died, according to legend, from a mushroom that grew underground. Buddha was given the mushroom by a peasant who believed it to be a delicacy.
In an ancient verse, that mushroom was linked to the phrase “pig’s foot” but has never been identified. (Although truffles grow underground and pigs are used to find them, no deadly poisonous species are known).
Tassili Cave Drawing: Bee-headed Mushroom King
The oldest archaeological of mushroom use discovered so far is probably a Tassili image from a cave which dates back 3,500 years before the birth of Christ. The artist’s intent is clear. Mushrooms with electrified auras are depicted outlining a dancing shaman.
The spiritual interpretation of the image transcends time and is obvious.
No wonder that word “be-mushroomed” has evolved to reflect the devout mushroom lover’s state of mind.
In the winter of 1991, hikers in the Italian Alps came across the well preserved remains of a man who died over 5300 years ago, approximately 200 years later than the Tassili cave artist. Dubbed the “Iceman” by the news media, he was well equipped with a knapsack, flint axe, a string of dried Birch Polypores (Piptoporus betulinus) and another yet unidentified mushroom.
The polypores can be used as tinder for starting fires and as medicine for treating wounds. Further, a rich tea with immuno-enhancing properties can be prepared by boiling these mushrooms. Equipped for traversing the wilderness, this intrepid adventurer had discovered the value of the noble polypores. Even today, this knowledge can be life-saving for anyone astray in the wilderness.
Fear of mushroom poisoning pervades every culture, sometimes reaching phobic extremes. The term mycophobic describes those individuals and cultures where fungi are looked upon with fear and loathing. Mycophobic cultures are epitomized by the English and Irish.
In contrast, mycophilic societies can be found throughout Asia and eastern Europe, especially amongst Polish, Russian and Italian peoples. These societies have enjoyed a long history of mushroom use, with as many as a hundred common names to describe the mushroom varieties they loved.
The use of mushrooms by diverse cultures was intensively studied by an investment banker named R. Gordon Wasson.
His studies concentrated on the use of mushrooms by Mesoamerican, Russian, English, and Indian cultures.
With the French mycologist Dr. Roger Heim, Wasson published research on Psilocybe mushrooms in Mesoamerica. He also studied Amanita mushrooms in Euro-Asia and Siberia.
Wasson’s studies spanned a lifetime marked by a passionate love for fungi. His publications include several works.
- Mushrooms, Russia, & History;
- The Wondrous Mushroom;
- Mycolatry in Mesoamerica;
- Maria Sabina and her Mazatec Mushroom Velada;
- and Persephone’s Quest: Entheogens and the Origins of Religion.
Wasson kindled interest in ethnomycology during the 20th century. This sparked its present state of intense study.
Wasson died on Christmas Day in 1986.
Aristotle, Plato, and Sophocles participated in Eleusinian ceremonies. An unusual temple honored Demeter, the Goddess of Earth.
For over two millennia, pilgrims traveled fourteen miles from Athens to Eleusis.
They paid the equivalent of a month’s wage to attend the annual ceremony.
The pilgrims were ritually harassed on their journey to the temple, apparently in good humor.
Upon arrival at the temple, the pilgrims gathered in the initiation hall, a great television.
Inside the temple, pilgrims sat in rows that descended stepwise to a hidden central chamber.
Fungal concoction was served from that chamber.
An odd feature was a row of columns beyond any apparent need, whose purpose escaped archaeologists.
The pilgrims spent the night together and reportedly came away forever changed.
In this pavilion crowded with pillars, ceremonies occurred. Historians call them the Eleusinian Mysteries. No revelation of the ceremony’s secrets could be mentioned under penalty of imprisonment or death. These ceremonies persisted.
These activities continued until repressed in the early centuries of the Christian era. Consequently, many rites vanished or were hidden from public view.
Hallucinogenic Psilocybe were known to the Aztecs as teonanácatl. It is literally ‘god’s mushroom’ in Nahuatl. They were reportedly served at the coronation of Moctezuma II in 1502. Aztecs and Mazatecs called psilocybin mushrooms genius mushrooms, divinatory mushrooms, and wondrous mushrooms.
Bernardino de Sahagún reported ritualistic use of Teonanácatl by the Aztecs. He traveled to South America after the expedition of Herando Cortes. After the conquest, Catholic missionaries campaigned against ‘pagan idolatry,’ and the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms was suppressed. The Spanish believed the mushroom allowed the Aztecs and others to communicate with devils.
In 1977, at a mushroom conference on the Olympic Peninsula, Wasson, Hofmann, and Ruck postulated. They argued the Eleusinian mysteries centered on psychoactive fungi. Their idea highlighted fungal rites in ancient mystery practices. Their papers were later published in a book titled The Road the Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries(1978).
Moreover, the publication popularized the idea. Aristotle and other founders of western philosophy undertook such intellectual adventures. The secret ceremony persisted for nearly 2,000 years and shaped western consciousness. These ideas influenced later religious and philosophical thought worldwide.
From 1000 to 500 BCE, Central American cultures built temples to mushroom gods. They carved ‘mushroom stones’ found in Mexico and Guatemala. From the 13th to the 15th century, practices continued.
Vienna Codex depicts the ritual use of mushrooms by the Mixtec gods, showing Piltzintecuhtli and seven other gods holding mushrooms. These were most likely psilocybin-containing mushrooms. The Wondrous Mushroom is a 16th-century Xochipilli statue.
Aztec statue depicts the Prince of Flowers decorated with six psychoactive plants: mushrooms, tobacco, morning glory, sinicuichi, cacahuaxochitl. One unidentified plant is also mentioned. On Jun 15, 1521, hallucinogenic mushrooms and peyote were driven underground. The use of hallucinogenic mushrooms and peyote was driven underground as Europeans forbade non-alcohol intoxicants in Mexico. Catholic priests punish the use of entheogens by native people. In 1560, Spanish priest Bernardino de Sahagún writes in his Florentine Codex about peyote. He estimates peyote has been in use since at least 300 B.C.
On Oct 3, 1799, the first documented psychedelic mushroom experience/ingestion took place in London. In the mid-1800s, a Xochipilli statue was discovered by Europeans in central Mexico.
In 1936, Blas Pablo Reko confirmed teonanacatl as the psilocybin mushroom. He refuted the belief at the time that teonanacatl was peyote.
In 1938, Schultes and Reko traveled to Mexico to collect specimens of several psychoactive mushroom species. These specimens were deposited in the Harvard herbarium. In 1939, Richard Evans Schultes published a paper describing teonanacatl as a psilocybin-containing mushroom.
On June 29, 1955, R. Gordon Wasson participated in a mushroom velada led by Maria Sabina. On May 13, 1957, R. Gordon Wasson published an article about psychoactive mushrooms in Life Magazine. This marked the first popular media coverage of their existence.
In 1958, psilocybin was first isolated from psychoactive mushrooms by Albert Hofmann at Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Switzerland. In 1959, Albert Hofmann first published the synthesis of psilocybin. In 1960, Sandoz Pharmaceutical began producing psilocybin pills. They contained 2 mg of psilocybin per small pink pill.
On August 6, 1960, Timothy Leary first ingested psilocybin-containing mushrooms in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In October 1960, Timothy Leary first tried pure psilocybin.
From 1960 to 1961, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert began a series of experiments with Harvard graduate students, using pure psilocybin. In the 1960s, Albert Hofmann gave synthetic psilocybin to Maria Sabina.
Apr 1962, the Good Friday Experiment began. Additionally, twenty students at Boston University participated in a psilocybin ritual/experiment. 7 [Details].
1963
Leary and Alpert were dismissed from their academic positions at Harvard due, at least in part, to their continued experiments with students and psychedelics. 4
Oct 24, 1968
Possession of Psilocybin & Psilocin become illegal in the United States.
Oct 27, 1970
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defines a scheduling system for drugs. It places most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis, & MDA) in Schedule I. It places coca, cocaine and injectable methamphetamine in Schedule II. Other amphetamines and stimulants, including non-injectable methamphetamine are placed in Schedule III.
1960-1977
Psilocybin is studied as a psychotherapeutic medicine through the 1960s and 1970s. FDA approved research with humans ends in 1977, not to be continued until the late 1990s.
Late 1990’s
Research with psilocybin begins to see a small resurgence.
Jun 1999
An improved synthesis method for psilocybin is published. 8 [More Info]
Jun 5, 2002
Japan. Psilocybin mushrooms become illegal to sell in Japan. Although already illegal to eat, Japanese head shops had previously been allowed to sell mushrooms.
May 2006
Survey results published in Neurology show that both psilocybin-containing mushrooms and LSD may reduce severity and frequency of cluster headaches. 9 [Details]
Jul 11, 2006
Research shows psilocybin can induce mystical experiences. 10 [More Info] [Details]
References:
- Schultes RE, Hofmann A. Plants of the Gods. Inner Traditions, 1992.
- Stafford P. Psychedelics Encyclopedia. Ronin, 1992.
- Brande E. “On A Poisonous Species of Agaric”. London Medical and Physical Journal. 1799;XI:41-44.
- Ray O, Ksir C. Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior. Mosby, 1996.
- Hofmann A, Troxler F. “Identifizierung von Psilocin”. Experientia. 1959;15:101-102.
- Leary T. High Priest. Ronin Pub, 1995.
- Pahnke W. Drugs and Mysticism: An Analysis of the Relationship between Psychedelic Drugs and the Mystical Consciousness. Thesis Harvard University, 1963.
- Nichols DE, Frescas S. “Improvements to the Synthesis of Psilocybin and a Facile Method for Preparing the O-Acetyl Prodrug of Psilocin.” Synthesis, 1999;6:935-938.
- Sewell RA, Halpern JH, Pope HG Jr. “Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD”. Neurology. 2006;66(12):1920-2.
- Griffiths RR, Richards WA, McCann U, Jesse R . “Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance”. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2006;187(3):268-83.